Bodycam footage shows two NYPD cops bust into a burning NYC home to rescue residents
By: Queens, NY - They went from the Finest to the Bravest.
Two heroic NYPD officers spotted a fire in a Queens building Wednesday morning and leapt into action, busting down doors and dousing flames while searching for victims — with one telling The Post: “It’s in our blood.”
Stunning video obtained by The Post shows Emergency Services Unit Sgt. Bryan Vesely and Detective Dan Dongvort, who were on patrol in ESU Truck 9 in Jamaica, Queens, when they sniffed out danger.
“We were just driving around the area, and we noticed that there was a strong odor of smoke,” said Vesely, 38, a 12-year veteran. “We noticed that the streets in the area were starting to fill up with smoke.”
The two officers, part of an elite, 350-member unit known for daring feats, made their way to 229th Street, where they saw smoke pouring out of an attic vent, video shows.
Training immediately kicked in for the officers, who are both volunteer firefighters in Long Island, and they boldly headed into the blaze.
“I radioed that we needed the FDNY and EMS,” said Vesely. “It was unknown if we had anyone inside.”
Dongvort, 38, grabbed air tanks and door-opening halligan tools, and pressurized water can out of the ESU truck.
“There was a good volume of smoke pushing out of the top,” Dongvort said. “I moved the vehicle off to the side so the FDNY could get in.”
Video shows the courageous twosome donning the compressed oxygen packs, prying open doors and scouring the Cape Cod-style home for survivors.
They checked three smoke-filled bedrooms and didn’t find anyone but became worried when they saw children’s toys.
“We did a secondary search to make sure we weren’t missing anyone,” Dongvort said. “Kids hide in very small spaces.”
Meanwhile, Vesley used the water can to knock back flames that licked at the floor and walls.
“I went outside to try to get a 360 of the house to see if we were missing anything,” Dongvort said. “Turns out there was a basement apartment.”
The two went downstairs and roused a sleeping man and woman, and hurriedly escorted them outside, the video shows.
Vesley then pulled the stairs down from the attic and climbed inside.
“I made my way up, and it looked like there was a large volume of fire right behind me,” Vesely said. “I tried my best to hold the fire back with the water can.”
By then, the FDNY was on the scene and took over battling the all-hands blaze.
The residents were treated on the scene, and the woman thanked the cops from inside the ambulance.
The cause of the blaze is being investigated by fire marshals.